Zee TV's new family drama Rajaa Betaa focuses on an ideal son, reversing the role of a dutiful woman who holds the family together. MUSBA HASHMI reports

They are successful, chivalrous, kind and complete men everyone desires in life. They suit up to kill and carry themselves with a lot of grace. They wear their heart on their sleeve and believe in binding the family together. From Naitik (played by Karan Mehra) of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, to Shivaansh Oberoi (Nakuul Mehta), of Ishqbaaaz, the good boys of small screen have always grabbed many eyeballs. Adding to the bandwagon is Rahul Sudhir who is making his debut with Rajaa Betaa on Zee TV.

Some relationships are beyond blood relationships and Rajaa Betaa is the story of an orphan child Vedant Tripathi who was found lying in a train compartment and was brought home by Gangadutt Tripathi. He gives the responsibility to his good-for-nothing son Ramesh to bring him up as his own child. Raised by a disinterested father, Vedant grows up to become a successful gynaecologist but his family never appreciates him for anything and uses him as a pay-check.

“Vedant is an ideal son and husband. He is a selfless man who is looking for acceptance in his life. He wants to make sure that everyone in the family is happy and he is ever ready to sacrifice his own happiness for their sake. He longs for love and affection. Being orphaned at birth, he wasn't fortunate enough to have the relationships the rest of us inherit at birth. Though he hasn’t received the love he deserves from the family, he still feels forever indebted to them for lending him their surname and wants to constantly give back to the family in every way possible.”

Small screen showmakers are breaking the monotony of women-centric shows, highlighting the fact that not all men are bad and vengeful. Shows like Rajaa Betaa celebrates men and introduces the male-protagonist as the one who go all out and make sacrifices to keep the whole family together. The makers have gone an extra mile by reversing the role of a woman with a man.

“Every big family needs a Banyan tree and Vedant plays this role. He takes up all the responsibilities that are traditionally considered to be a woman’s domain in the family. People will get to see  up to what extent a man can go to keep his family together. Through this concept we wanted to move on from the age-old concept where it is only a woman's duty to do all the sacrifice and keep her family together. The concept of the show is different and we are confident that our audience will welcome this show with open hearts,” producer Smruti Shinde says, adding that the show goes aired from January 15, Monday to Saturday at 6:30 pm.

For Sudhir, to get such an integral role to play in debut show is sheer luck and comes with lots of responsibility. “Through this role, I am looking forward to the change in people’s perception of an ideal man. The thing that attracted me to play Vedant was that he is a man full of values and despite of being grown up in a negative environment where no one appreciates him, he still emerges to be a very positive soul and holds on to the string of affection that came his way from his foster grandparents,” he adds.

Debutant Sambhabna Mohanty, who plays Poorva Mishra— Vedant’s wife, says: “The concept of the show is fresh with an interesting tagline — ‘Vedant sab sambhal lega.’ Poorva is a modern day girl, she is fierce, independent and abides by her principles. The layers of this character is what attracted me to play this role.”

While Fenil Umrigar will be  playing Poorva’s sister Pankhuri, Anil Misra will essay the role of Vedant’s father Rakesh Tripathi.

There have been many male- centric shows like Jamai Raja and others that have showcased an ideal son-in-law or an ideal husband but the highlight of this storyline is an ideal son, which not many serials have focussed. The essence of the show will be the struggle of Vedant to find the love that he has been longing all his life.

Well, whether this family drama sticks to this unique concept or would fizzle and turn into a love story, only time will tell.